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Michael Church

Ji So-yun has a wish list; it is not particularly long and some of her hopes may be little more than fantasy, but that doesn't stop her from dreaming.
Over the past 18 months, the diminutive South Korean has established herself among the leading female footballers in the world with her stellar performances for Chelsea Ladies.
But there is one question she can't help but ask.
"Can you bring a Korean player to Chelsea?" she says with playful desperation just weeks after her homeland's current pin-up boy, Son Heung-min, sealed his own move to London.
But while Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane was Son's destination, Ji sits in the confines of Chelsea's impressive Cobham training complex hoping for some Korean company.
While the number of Ji's male compatriots playing in England and throughout Europe continues to grow, the 24-year-old is on her own. Perhaps she should mention it to Jose Mourinho.
"I'm scared to," she says, shaking her head at the mention of the Portuguese coach's name. While Mourinho's stern approach might intimidate Ji, she has shown the character and talent to take the women's game in England by storm.
There was a lot of media exposure and the fans were all focusing on the club that Chelsea are, and I'm the first Korean lady to play in Europe. They were asking how a Korean lady could join a club like Chelsea
Ji So-yun
Her performances since moving from Japan's L.League early last year have caught the eye in the aftermath of an impressive performance against her current employers in the final of the Mobcast Cup in Tokyo in December 2013.
Then on the books of INAC Kobe Leonessa, the slight South Korean midfielder shone in a 4-2 win, scoring one goal and setting up another as her club claimed the International Women's Club Championship.
Afterwards, Chelsea coach Emma Hayes slipped a note into Ji's hand, expressing a desire to work with her in London, setting in motion a move that took her halfway across the world to England's Women's Super League.
Started in 2011 with eight teams - the aim is to expand to 12 - the Women's Super League is at the heart of attempts to improve the female side of the game.
Ji's move to Chelsea made her the first Asian player to play professionally in England and the first South Korean woman to earn a living from the game as a player in Europe. It sets her up as a trailblazer for the women's game; the female equivalent, perhaps, of legends of the Asian game such as Cha Bum-kun.
"The reaction in Korea was huge, it was 100 per cent different to when I went to Japan," says Ji of the response when news broke of her impending move to England.
"There was a lot of media exposure and the fans were all focusing on the club that Chelsea are, and I'm the first Korean lady to play in Europe. They were asking how a Korean lady could join a club like Chelsea."
Before long, Ji was showing why the talents that had seen her crowned Asia's female player of the year in 2013 were so sought after by the Roman Abramovic-owned club.
At the end of her first season she was named PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year, by April she had scored the winning goal in the Women's FA Cup final - played for the first time at Wembley Stadium - and she was instrumental as Chelsea secured their first league title after finishing runners-up last season.
She now has her sights set on the Uefa Women's Champions League, which Chelsea will play in for the first time after 2014's second-place finish.
"When I first came to the league, the other players and managers probably didn't know much about me because it's hard to watch Asian women's football here," says Ji of her initial success. "They didn't focus on me and they weren't marking me.
"But now they know what my strengths are, what I can do to teams, so they're always checking on me and there have been more times when they've been individually marking me.
"It has been a more difficult season, but I think I've improved as a player because of that."
Now, she dreams of not only winning titles and playing for Korea at the biggest tournaments - after appearing at the Fifa Women's World Cup last year she is targeting a place at next summer's Olympic Games - but harbours a hope of one day featuring in a team boasting the talents of Chelsea's Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic.
"I love Matic," says Ji, blowing a kiss towards the sky.
"I love Oscar, too, but Matic is my favourite. I love that kind of playing style. He plays football beautifully. I'd love to be on the same pitch as him and receive passes from him. That's how perfect he is."
While she is the only Korean female player in Europe, Ji is joined in England by Lee Chung-yong at Crystal Palace, Ki Sung-yueng at Swansea City and Yun Suk-young at Queens Park Rangers as well as Son, following his arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.
"I'm in regular contact with the players here," she says. "There aren't many, so we try to meet regularly for dinner. There's a lot of contact, we meet up and we talk on the phone and text each regularly. Lee Chung-yong is very helpful and I'm good friends with Yun Suk-young at QPR.
"We try to go to each other's games, if we have time. We give each other advice about how to avoid injuries.
"And because I'm a female player I get more attention from them. I get to pick from the menu when we go out for dinner!"
And maybe one day in the near future, she'll pluck up the courage to ask Mourinho to bring one of Korea's bright male stars to Stamford Bridge.


Blazing a trail in Europe: Ji So-yun dreams of more Koreans joining Chelsea

South Korea's Ji So-yun has made a big impact on the Women's Super League in England with the Chelsea Ladies team. Photo: Corbis Images

Sport

Football

Brilliant midfielder is blazing a trail for Asian players in the Women's Super League in England


Blazing a trail in Europe: Ji So-yun dreams of more Koreans joining Chelsea

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Brilliant midfielder is blazing a trail for Asian players in the Women's Super League in England

Brilliant midfielder is blazing a trail for Asian players in the Women's Super League in England